October 20 Today in classical music history

Ivo Pogorelić b-1958

1676 Death of English organist and composer Christopher GIBBONS, at 61. bap- London, 22 AUG 1615. Son of Orlando Gibbons, organist of Westminster Abbey and Purcell's teacher.

1788 Birth of composer Philip KNAPTON.

1792 Birth of German flautist and composer Anton Bernhard FURSTENAU. d-1852. Search Amazon.com for Anton Bernhard FURSTENAU

1819 Birth of Polish pianist, conductor, teacher and composer Karol MIKULI in Cernowitz. d-Lemberg, 21 MAY 1897. Search Amazon.com for Karol MIKULI

1819 Death of composer Lambert-Francois Godecharle, at 66. b-1758.

1842 FP Wagner's Rienzi at Dresden Opera. "Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen" CD-Wagner: RIENZI [COMPLETE]

1847 FP of revised Albert Lortzing opera Undineat the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. CD-Lortzing,Albert: Overtures

1860 FP of Johannes Brahms' String Sextet No. 1 in Bb, Op. 18, by violinist Joseph Joachim and ensemble, in Hanover. CD-Johannes Brahms: Sextet No. 1/Piano Trio No. 1

1865 Birth of Austrian tenor Franz NAVáL, aka Franz Pogacnik, in Laibach. d-9 AUG 1939. Debut in Frankfurt as Lionel in Martha 1888. Imperial Opera in Berlin, 1895-98. One season at the MET Opera in tenor roles of Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana, La Dame Blanche, L'Elisir d'Amore, Faust, La Traviata, Roméo et Juliette. Retired to teach in Vienna.

1865 Debut of Lilli Lehmann at age 16 in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.

1870 Death of Irish composer Michael William Balfe, at 62 in Hertfordshire. b-Dublin, 15 MAY 1808.

1874 Birth of American composer and insurance executive Charles IVES in Danbury CT. d-NYC, 19 MAY 1954. Search Amazon.com for Charles IVES

1877 FP of Franz Schubert's 2nd Symphony in Berlin. CD-Schubert: The Complete Symphonies

1877 Birth of American composer and musical historian Josephine McGILL in Louisville, KY. d-24 FEB 1919. Was an authority on the songs of the Southern Appalachians. Search Amazon.com for Josephine McGILL

1883 Birth of Russian composer Alexander KREIN in Nizhny-Novgorod. d-nr. Moscow, 21 APR 1951. Search Amazon.com for Alexander KREIN.

1883 FP of Max Bruch's Kol Nidre, in Liverpool England. CD-Brahms: Cello Sonatas; Bruch: Kol Nidrei

1898 FP of D'ALBERT's "Die Abreise" Frankfurt.

1900 (30?)Birth of Spanish composer Rodolfo HALFFTER in Madrid. Uncle of Cristóbal and brother of Ernesto Halffter. Left Spain and settled in Mexico in 1939. d-Mexico City, 14 OCT 1987. Search Amazon.com for Rodolfo HALFFTER

1901 Birth of German composer Hans-Otto BORGMANN. Search Amazon.com for Hans-Otto BORGMANN

1904 Death of English organist and composer Henry Hiles, at 77 in Worthing, England. b- Shrewsbury, 31 DEC 1826. Search Amazon.com for Henry Hiles

1906 Birth of American composer, pianist and conductor Josef BLATT in Vienna. University of Michigan director of Opera and Orchestras, ret. 1976. Founder of the Friends of Music, Tucson-Green Valley, AZ. d-Az 2 Mar 1999. 

1906 Birth of Italian-English violinist Alfredo CAMPOLI. d-1991. Search Amazon.com for Alfredo CAMPOLI

1909 Birth of American vocalist Adelaide HALL. Search Amazon.com for Adelaide HALL

1909 Birth of French pianist Monique HARE.

1913 Birth of Italian composer, violinist and conductor Angelo EPHRIKIAN in Trévise. d-Rome, OCT 1982.

1913 Death of Dutch pianist, teacher and composer Leander Schlegel, at 69 in Overveen. b-Leiden, 2 FEB 1844. Search Amazon.com for Leander Schlegel

1914 71 year old singer Adelina Patti makes her final 'farewell appearance'. A Red Cross benefit at Royal Albert Hall in London. Search Amazon.com for Adelina Patti.

1915 Birth of German-Israeli composer Giora SCHUSTER in Hamburg.

1919 Birth of American composer Kenneth HAXTON in Greenville, MS.

1921 Birth of American tenor Michael Pollock, in New York. d. San Diego, Nov. 8, 2003.

1923 Birth of Conductor and Stravinsky assistant Robert CRAFT in Kingston, NY. Search Amazon.com for Robert CRAFT

1923 FP of F. Delius' A Dance Rhapsody under Sir Henry Wood, in London. Search Amazon.com for Delius' A Dance Rhapsody

1925 Birth of composer Herman Roelstraete. Herman Roelstraete (1925-1985): Muzikale retrospectieve (Luistergids) (Dutch Edition)

1926 FP of FRIML's "The Wild Rose" New York.

1926 FP of Symth's "Entente cordiale" Bristol.

1927 Birth of American bass Franco Ventriglia, in Fairfield, CT.

1927 Death of Russian composer and music critic Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ivanov in Rome, at 78. b- Moscow, 23 SEP 1849. Search Amazon.com for Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ivanov

1929 Debut in NYC of 9 year old violinist Ruggiero Ricci with the Manhattan Orchestra conducted by Henry Hadley at Mecca Temple. Search Amazon.com for Ruggiero Ricci
[Editor Bill Fodor notes...According to Wikipedia, Ricci was born in 1918, so his NYC debut would have been at age of 11, not 9. His first public performance was at age 10 in San Francisco. For the latter, he played music of Wieniawski & Vieuxtemps (date not specified in Wiki) and, at the former, played Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Supposedly, had his first Carnegie Hall appearance shortly thereafter but nothing about what he played, though I may be able to source that out.]

See: Wikipedia Bio

He passed away on 8/6/2012, aged 94, in Palm Springs, CA.

1931 Birth of Australian contralto Lauris Elms, in Melborne. Search Amazon.com for Lauris Elms

1931 Death of Hungarian pianist, inventor and composer Emanuel Moor, at 68 in Switzerland. b-Kecskemét, 19 FEB 1863. Search Amazon.com for Emanuel Moor

1932 Birth of Canadian baritone Bernard Turgeon, in Edmonton, Alberta.

1934 FP of GIVNNINI's "Lucedia" Munich.

1934 Richard Strauss completes his opera Die Schweigsame Fraun-The Silent Worman. CD-Die Schweigsame Frau

1934 Birth of French pianist and composer Jacques LOUSSIER. d-1999. Search Amazon.com for Jacques LOUSSIER

1940 Birth of American mezzo-soprano Joanna Simon, in New York.

1942 Death of German composer, violinist and conductor Frederick Stock in Chicago. b-Julich, Prussia 11 NOV 1872. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's second music director held the position from 1905-1942, the longest service of any of the orchestra's conductors.

1943 Birth of Yugoslavian mezzo-soprano Dunja Vejzovic, in Zagreb. MET: Début Oct. 9, 1978 [Venus] Tannhäuser, 1 season (1978-79) 2, perf., 1 work.

1944 Birth of American pianist, organist and composer William Hugh ALBRIGHT in Gary, IN. d-17 SEP 1998.

1944 Death of composer Gabriel Groulez, at 65. b-4 APR 1882 ('81?).

1945 Birth of American composer Thomas PASATIERI in NYC. Search Amazon.com for Thomas PASATIERI.

1947 Birth of German baritone Wolfgang Brendel, in Munich. MET Début: Nov. 20, 1975 [Almaviva] Le Nozze di Figaro, 7 season (1975-76, 87-88, 89-91, 94-96, 97-98) 60 perf. 11 roles, 10-works. Search Amazon.com for Wolfgang Brendel

1950 Birth of American composer Elodie LAUTEN. Search Amazon.com for Elodie LAUTEN

1950 FP of Howard Hanson's Pastorale for Solo Oboe, Strings and Harp, with oboist Marcel Tabuteau, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting. CD-Great American Composers Collection

1952 FP of Peter Mennin's Concertanto- Moby Dick for orchestra, in Erie, PA. CD-Mennin: Concertato

1952 FP of CHISHOLM's "Dark Sonnet" Cape Town.

1955 Birth of American film score composer Thomas Montgomery NEWTON.

1955 Birth of Ecuadoran composer Diego LUZURIAGA in Loja. Search Amazon.com for Diego LUZURIAGA

1955 Death of Finnish composer Eino Roiha, at 51. b-Helsinki, 12 JUN 1904. Search Amazon.com for Eino Roiha

1958 Birth of Yogoslavian pianist Ivo POGORELICH in Belgrade. BIO.  Search Amazon.com for Ivo POGORELICH

1958 FP of Alan Hovhaness' Meditation on Orpheus. Houston Symphony, Leopold Stokowski conducting. CD-Hovhaness; Triptych/The Holy City/Meditation on Orpheus/Cowell: Music 1957/Synchrony

1960 FP of Lukas Foss' Time Cycle for Soprano and Orchestra. New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, with soprano Adele Addison in NYC. CD-Foss: Time Cycle/Lulu's Song/For Cornelia/Three Airs for Frank O'Hara's Angel/Where the Bee Sucks/Wanderers Gemutsruhe/Thirteen

1967 Birth of American composer Alexandra GARDNER.

1969 FP of MALIPIERO's "Il marescalco" Treviso.

1974 FP of Elliott Carter's Brass Quintet, on a BBC broadcast with the American Brass Quintet, London. Search Amazon.com for Carter's Brass Quintet 

1974 FP of Hans Werner Henze's Tristan for piano, orchestra, and tape, by the London Symphony, Colin Davis conducting. Search Amazon.com for Henze's Tristan CD-Concerto Piano 2/Prelude Tristan

1977 FP of Michael Colgrass' Déjà vu. New York Philharmonic conducted by Erich Leinsdorf in NYC. CD-Déjà vu: Music by Michael Colgrass and Gunther Schuller

1983 FP of Gian Carlo Menotti's Double-bass Concerto. New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta conducting, James VanDemark, soloist, in NYC.

1985 FP of Lou Harrison's Piano Concerto. Keith Jarrett, pianist, in NYC. CD-Harrison: Piano Concerto/Suite For Violin, Piano And Small Orchestra

1994 Death of dancer and choreographer Charles Robert Owen Medley, at 88. b-19 DEC 1905.

2004 Death or American tenor William Brown in Jacksonville, FL. b-Jackson, Mississippi, 29 MAR 1932. Memorial. Obituary. Search Amazon.com for tenor William Brown.